Phew - nearly published a blank blog page!
Monday 28th
Despite assurances from the camp site that tomorrows general strike won't have a big effect we decided to go shopping at the nearest Carrefour to keep us going until the end of the week. Our mail has arrived but we are waiting for a delivery from Amazon as we have almost exhausted our stock of books and are reduced to reading authors we would not normally touch by swopping the books with passing Brits! Spanish bookshops that sell english books are not afraid to ask for money so buying from Amazon is cheaper. The weather has returned to normal service and its really very warm by day and night. Still should not complain as it it more fun than the rain.
Tuesday 29th
Went over the ridge behind our village and into the Ebro valley. That's a climb of over 2000 ft on a road that winds up the face of the ridge. Poor little Fiat.
Still the run on the other side was like a day out in a very sunny Dales or White Peak. At the end we found the Bodega Irache. And the fountain of wine (and water) - both free - for the pilgrims on their way to Santiago as one of the routes passes the bodega. We wandered into the offices and were served by the Export Manager no less. She spent a year improving her English in Manchester (?) so was really pleased to meet some northerners. The wine's good as well but what it costs in the UK I dread to think.
We then went into Estrella/Lizarra and had a drink in the square (non-alcoholic) and watched people stream out of a funeral at the church opposite. Very informal it was with at least one pall bearer wearing shorts. Certainly black seemed to be very limited except for the young woman in a little black number. Wandered around the town to see the sights in the "zona monumental". It was a fiesta in one part of town with pony rides for the children as went in one direction. Heading back it had changed into a strange affair where a young calf on a long lead seemed to chase the young kids arounfd the square. Very odd.
As we headed back through the town towards the very impressive bus station and car park we stumbled across 100 or so protestors carrying placards denouncing the Governments austerity measures and changes to the labour laws. Not a mass protest but they were facing half a dozen cops dressed for riots (crash helmets, shin pads and one guy carrying a tear gas/rubber bullet shotgun). Seemed overkill as they were in turn watched by local cops who seemed much more relaxed. And so back home as Spain dug in to watch the World Cup and beat Portugal - good result.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
More catch-up
Oh well the erratic nature of our internet connection continues. I can see the Guardian, LEP and even the Skelmersdale Advertiser as well as the BBc site but it won't connect to my e-mail server or Facebook or Google mail or my blog site. So back to stockpiling.
Thursday 24 June
We went to Pamplona today. Its about 25 miles away and so unmissable. At least its not the feast of St Firmin - yet. But in two weeks the place goes bonkers. The bull running starts and goes on for 7 days. The arrangements are being put in place with the wooden barriers being put in place at all the junctions on the route and the shops selling t shirts advertising the event. Some are tasteful others including the one with mock blood spatters a lot less so. Still it must be the only bull related event in Spain where the bulls have the upper hand. We walked most of the route which is fairly short but then there were no bulls chasing us.
The old city is full of narrow streets made to feel even narrower by the tall apartments around them. The atmosphere is busy but not horrendously so and the scale of it is quite small. We went into the Plaza del Castillo, the main square, and had the menu del dia at the Cafe Iruna. Its a wonderful belle epoque dining room which puts quotes from its most famous customer on its menu. The whole place is Hemingway crazy down to having part of the cafe called The Hemingway Bar complete with a statue of the man himself at the bar! He publicised the bull running and turned it from a local event to an international one so they gave him a street outside the bull ring.
The Cathedral is wonderfully cool even if it's being restored and parts are off limits or in the case of the front invisible under scaffolding and screening. The quiet of the cloisters are only interrupted by the sound of a small fountain allegedly surrounded by railings made of the spoils of victory over the "evil" Moors. The other oddity was the work in the cloisters to disinter the bodies buried under the floor and it was fascinating to watch one archaelogist carefully brushing soil away to expose the small bones in one grave whilst her colleague removed the soil from the next grave in a barrow leaving the skeleton exposed.
A visit to Lidl finished the day as we stocked up for the weekend.
Friday 25 June
Today is a domestic chores day.
Saturday 26th June
Went to Vitoria/Gasteiz. The city is really very nice with an old medieval quarter and a livley more modern wrap around. The trams are good as well - shows what you can do with some public spending! They were having a youth festival and bands were playing in the main square. It was like a heavy rock show with loads on black tee shirts and tattoos all over but very friendly and relaxed - even if the amps were cranked up to the maximum! Against this background people were getting married in the church overlooking the stage and coming out to have a boogie on the platform in front. The weather was getting more and more sultry by the time we got back so taht about an hour later we had a grade A thunderstorm.
Sunday 27th June
The weather had dried off and we stayed close to home to watch the Grand Prix and that game. Think we should have gone out after the Grand Prix (won by a German from 2 Brits but all driving Britsh cars). I think Mark Webber should get Red Bull to change its slogan - "Gives you wings" is not a good idea on a racing car. Still once more as the day wore on the weather got closer and in the last half hour the thunder has come back. Hey Ho! PS there is a general strike here on Tuesday - we think - to protest about the Government cut-backs!
Thursday 24 June
We went to Pamplona today. Its about 25 miles away and so unmissable. At least its not the feast of St Firmin - yet. But in two weeks the place goes bonkers. The bull running starts and goes on for 7 days. The arrangements are being put in place with the wooden barriers being put in place at all the junctions on the route and the shops selling t shirts advertising the event. Some are tasteful others including the one with mock blood spatters a lot less so. Still it must be the only bull related event in Spain where the bulls have the upper hand. We walked most of the route which is fairly short but then there were no bulls chasing us.
The old city is full of narrow streets made to feel even narrower by the tall apartments around them. The atmosphere is busy but not horrendously so and the scale of it is quite small. We went into the Plaza del Castillo, the main square, and had the menu del dia at the Cafe Iruna. Its a wonderful belle epoque dining room which puts quotes from its most famous customer on its menu. The whole place is Hemingway crazy down to having part of the cafe called The Hemingway Bar complete with a statue of the man himself at the bar! He publicised the bull running and turned it from a local event to an international one so they gave him a street outside the bull ring.
The Cathedral is wonderfully cool even if it's being restored and parts are off limits or in the case of the front invisible under scaffolding and screening. The quiet of the cloisters are only interrupted by the sound of a small fountain allegedly surrounded by railings made of the spoils of victory over the "evil" Moors. The other oddity was the work in the cloisters to disinter the bodies buried under the floor and it was fascinating to watch one archaelogist carefully brushing soil away to expose the small bones in one grave whilst her colleague removed the soil from the next grave in a barrow leaving the skeleton exposed.
A visit to Lidl finished the day as we stocked up for the weekend.
Friday 25 June
Today is a domestic chores day.
Saturday 26th June
Went to Vitoria/Gasteiz. The city is really very nice with an old medieval quarter and a livley more modern wrap around. The trams are good as well - shows what you can do with some public spending! They were having a youth festival and bands were playing in the main square. It was like a heavy rock show with loads on black tee shirts and tattoos all over but very friendly and relaxed - even if the amps were cranked up to the maximum! Against this background people were getting married in the church overlooking the stage and coming out to have a boogie on the platform in front. The weather was getting more and more sultry by the time we got back so taht about an hour later we had a grade A thunderstorm.
Sunday 27th June
The weather had dried off and we stayed close to home to watch the Grand Prix and that game. Think we should have gone out after the Grand Prix (won by a German from 2 Brits but all driving Britsh cars). I think Mark Webber should get Red Bull to change its slogan - "Gives you wings" is not a good idea on a racing car. Still once more as the day wore on the weather got closer and in the last half hour the thunder has come back. Hey Ho! PS there is a general strike here on Tuesday - we think - to protest about the Government cut-backs!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Catch-up
As our link to the internet is non-existent I'm going to have to keep a daily log and download the whole lot in one go once we get connected.
Tuesday
Left Cudillero this morning and headed of towards Bilbao. The weather was intermittment rain at first but claered up and got brighter as we headed along the coast with the Picos de Europa popping out between the clouds. It really would be a nice place to take our time through Still driving the van through the building site that passes for the southern by-pass around Bilbao( or Bilbo as it appears to be in Basque!). Anyway made our way along the expressway that heads around the east side of the city and out to our camp site - Camping Gorliz/Arrien. Once more shock and awe for our size despite the agreement that they could cope. Still we found a space, connected up and got the satellite going. What joy(?) as we could get BBC2, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Which meant CSI!! Then it started to rain - again. We had telly so it was not much of a problem even if the cats were not impressed. The season finales ( and the second part of a two part story at that) at least means we can tune in next season and know where we are.
Wednesday
Woke to the continuing rain which was of the torrential variety. Still we will go totally stir crazy if we stayed in so we head off to the station and take the tube to the city. Good service and well used but sadly there is no stop very close to the Guggenheim Museum, which we decided was a good place to go as it was under cover and well a landmark.Despite bussing as close as we could it was a pair of very soggy people who got inside and decided feeding was the most important thing! Never been to a museum/art gallery where you have to book a table at lunch-time so we stuck to the cafe which was full of people who had made our mistake. Still at 20 euros for essentially tapas and a drink it was hardly cheap. Nice enough but pricey. So into the museum proper! It is an experience rather than an art gallery with currently showing a Henri Rousseau special exhibition and one from Robert Rauschenburg called "Gluts" on the top floor. Loved the Rousseau but the other was not to my taste.
The second floor was given over to an exhibition of Anish Kapoor's work. Huge gallery spaces were devoted to his work and some was absolutely brilliant. But they should have kept him off the free audioguide. He sounded so pretentious it spoilt the clever pieces of work he had produced. Still we wandered into "shooting into the Corner" (Google it I'm sure its there as an explanation is nothing) just as the "attendant" was preparing to fire. First time I've seen anything quite like it and been stunned by the noise in a museum.
The ground floor had display of kids work done with local artists which was nice, a selection from the Guggenheim collection including a fabulous Andy Warhol (but no Kandinsky or Klee sadly), an "installation" called the Matter of Time from Richard Serra and a permanant installation by Jenny Holzer which consisted of a humber of moving LED "signs" which ran from floor to ceiling with messages. The whole effect was absolutely brilliant and one of the best things there. But once more out to the - rain. So we made our way past a soggy "Puppy" on to the tram and back to a "fosterito" (all the subway stations were designed by Sir Norman Foster) on on home. Finally as evening drew on the rain eased to be replaced by a gale. And so to bed.
Thursday
Well at least its dry but the poor old satellite dish has blown over despite being pegged down. But we can now go and take our other visit that we had promised ourselves. 60 kms down the road is Gernika-Lomo (aka Guernica). To someone who had seen the posters of the painting and read some history there really was no choice. The roads across were sweeping up and down through small villages and woods. Then we arrived in Gernika. It's not a big place and obviously most of but not all the buildings are new or reconstructions except for the church and the Basque parliament building. We wandered around until life came back at 4:00pm and went into the Parliament, which was not in session. The "Museum"/Assebly Hall has a leaded glass roof depicting the main strands of Basque life and the all important oak tree. It is a very impressive piece of post-Franco art. Then into the chamber which is an old church seating 84 members all in close contact in a elliptical chamber. Interestingly the Regional administration is in Bilbao but the Parliament meets in Gernika - as much out of history as anything else. Outside the building stands the ceremonial oak and its predecessors trunk. It is where official oaths are sworn - beats signing a pice of paper for the Chief Executive.
From there we wandered down to the Peace Museum in the old town hall. A really good piece of work with good audio visual elements and a strong sense of international justice. What I had not realised is that although the German government has apologised for the role of the Condor Legion the museum makes the point that the Spanish Army has never said sorry. Given Basque/Madrid relations interestingly they also have a section criticising both sides in the ETA conflict. From there we wandered down the Market Place which was the centre of the attack - on market day no less. The thought crossed my mind that it was like the German Air Force in WW II had blitzed Burscough village. It was certainly a fine example of state sponsored terrorism - even if Franco was not the government at that time.
Friday
We've decided as the weather is little better but less windy we will move south east to near Pamplona to a site who once more say they can cope with us. This has meant facing the lunacy that is the autovia system around Bilbao but for a shorter distance and then we're onto N roads - like A roads but without the by-passes! Takes us up into the mountains through oak and birch forests.The houses get sturdier lokking becoming low and squat with steep roofs and thick walls. Some have a peculiar rendering dotted with deliberate holes to show the stone walls beneath. They look like lumps of Gruyere cheese with a roof. Everyone has flowers on the balconies or patios. Its really quiet Swiss to look at. But we are clearly in Basque territory with the signs in both languages, Basque first of course, and often the local hooligans have painted over the Spanish town names so navigation is not easy as there is no commonality. So Pamplona is Iruna - which is a different place to Irun. Still we made it to Camping Etxarri at Extarri Aranatz in Navarre. And they were surprised at such a big van! Still despite the infestation of Belgians - loads of them we managed to find a spot under the tall oaks on ground that seems a bit soft but is the bast of a bad lot. Then off to the local supermarket. It might be called Netto but its not german and the prices are more like Sainsbury or even Waitrose. Still because we did not use any plastic bags we got a free bottle of shampoo!
Saturday
Woke to overcast skies - eventually. Being quiet and under the trees we slept in. Still the "Holy" mountain of Navarra is just up the road so we paid a rather windswept visit to San Miguel de Aralar. Its the oldest chuch in Navarra and it would seem home to an active pilgrimage business. Still a superb location and our old friends the vultures are back in the high mountains. From there we swept down to Lekunberri and the Ruta de Ernest Hemingway which seems to commemorate his visits to the area in the late 1950's. Sadly Lekunberri gave a very good impression of being closed. The good news was it had stayed dry but little sunshine. I bought some internet time but then discovered that the sites server was not working so I'll keep amassing the day stories.
Sunday
Again we slept in the gloom must fool the cats into thinking it's not yet morning. Cloudy skies and a Sunday meant that a trip to the coast was in order. Donostia (San sebastian) is about 60kms away so we jumped in the car and sped off down the autovia. The route is great and the views spectacular. We drove into town and like everywhere in Spain took a place in an undergound car-park near the theatre. My reason for coming was to see if it was anywhere as good as my O-level Spanish teacher at St Marys in the 60's - Harry is all I can remember - used to go on about it as he had spent time there. It was sunny by now and it seemed everyone had come to town. The buildings are a riot of French "Belle epoque", Spanish modernist and even mock Plateresque. I can bore for Britain on architectural styles - but won't. We decided to take a boat trip around the bay before lunch which seemed like a good idea as the sun might have been shining but the wind was still active creating a little thrill ride rather than a calm sojourn. Wind blown and slightly damp we went for lunch. 22 euros got us lunch(platos combinatos without the fried egg!) a drink and coffee away from the harbour whereas it would have been twice that overlooking the fishing boats. Then we wandered the streets to work off lunch admiring the views from the promenade.
And so back to the site where it was not sunny but rather chilly. Still the local weather forecast is for sunshine and better temperatures tomorrow.
Monday
We shall have to set the alarm as we awoke late yet again! But the sun is shining and two Belgians had left.
So we set about cleaning the van inside and out so it didn't look quite like it had spent the last two weeks on the Somme in WWI. Daren't wash it but wiped down the dark colours so they ceased to be grey. Then prepared a shopping list and set off after a late lunch to find a reasonable supermarket. Found an Eroski in Iruna (Pamplona but it gets painted over). Prices still a little higher but then on the way out we found Aldi and Lidl who seemed to hide themselves until it was too late. Driving back I upset a local who seemed to think that indicating left meant I was going to turn right and he could overtake me on the left. Perhaps I should have followed the local tradion and not signalled! And the best news is that the Belgians seem to have decided to follow their scouts and leave tomorrow as they are packing up their gear and having a get together at one of the vans. And they promise to fix the internet tomorrow. Well maybe.
Tuesday
The Belgians have left. Which has given us the chance to move to a pitch where the sun shines and we can get satellite. Just in time to watch England tomorrow. Spent the day re-organising ourselves. Snag is the Internet is still very flaky and we can't get some sites for some reason.
Wednesday
Woke up to find our new Dutch neighbours have left and the sun continues to shine. Paid a visit ti the mountains and followed a sign at the road side. Led us back to the Pays Vasco out of Navarra and up to a spectacular monastery. It's apparently burnt down three times and then rebuilt with a lot of modern touches about 20 to 30 years ago. Still got back to the van just in time to see Defoes goal. Bring on the Germans!
Tuesday
Left Cudillero this morning and headed of towards Bilbao. The weather was intermittment rain at first but claered up and got brighter as we headed along the coast with the Picos de Europa popping out between the clouds. It really would be a nice place to take our time through Still driving the van through the building site that passes for the southern by-pass around Bilbao( or Bilbo as it appears to be in Basque!). Anyway made our way along the expressway that heads around the east side of the city and out to our camp site - Camping Gorliz/Arrien. Once more shock and awe for our size despite the agreement that they could cope. Still we found a space, connected up and got the satellite going. What joy(?) as we could get BBC2, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Which meant CSI!! Then it started to rain - again. We had telly so it was not much of a problem even if the cats were not impressed. The season finales ( and the second part of a two part story at that) at least means we can tune in next season and know where we are.
Wednesday
Woke to the continuing rain which was of the torrential variety. Still we will go totally stir crazy if we stayed in so we head off to the station and take the tube to the city. Good service and well used but sadly there is no stop very close to the Guggenheim Museum, which we decided was a good place to go as it was under cover and well a landmark.Despite bussing as close as we could it was a pair of very soggy people who got inside and decided feeding was the most important thing! Never been to a museum/art gallery where you have to book a table at lunch-time so we stuck to the cafe which was full of people who had made our mistake. Still at 20 euros for essentially tapas and a drink it was hardly cheap. Nice enough but pricey. So into the museum proper! It is an experience rather than an art gallery with currently showing a Henri Rousseau special exhibition and one from Robert Rauschenburg called "Gluts" on the top floor. Loved the Rousseau but the other was not to my taste.
The second floor was given over to an exhibition of Anish Kapoor's work. Huge gallery spaces were devoted to his work and some was absolutely brilliant. But they should have kept him off the free audioguide. He sounded so pretentious it spoilt the clever pieces of work he had produced. Still we wandered into "shooting into the Corner" (Google it I'm sure its there as an explanation is nothing) just as the "attendant" was preparing to fire. First time I've seen anything quite like it and been stunned by the noise in a museum.
The ground floor had display of kids work done with local artists which was nice, a selection from the Guggenheim collection including a fabulous Andy Warhol (but no Kandinsky or Klee sadly), an "installation" called the Matter of Time from Richard Serra and a permanant installation by Jenny Holzer which consisted of a humber of moving LED "signs" which ran from floor to ceiling with messages. The whole effect was absolutely brilliant and one of the best things there. But once more out to the - rain. So we made our way past a soggy "Puppy" on to the tram and back to a "fosterito" (all the subway stations were designed by Sir Norman Foster) on on home. Finally as evening drew on the rain eased to be replaced by a gale. And so to bed.
Thursday
Well at least its dry but the poor old satellite dish has blown over despite being pegged down. But we can now go and take our other visit that we had promised ourselves. 60 kms down the road is Gernika-Lomo (aka Guernica). To someone who had seen the posters of the painting and read some history there really was no choice. The roads across were sweeping up and down through small villages and woods. Then we arrived in Gernika. It's not a big place and obviously most of but not all the buildings are new or reconstructions except for the church and the Basque parliament building. We wandered around until life came back at 4:00pm and went into the Parliament, which was not in session. The "Museum"/Assebly Hall has a leaded glass roof depicting the main strands of Basque life and the all important oak tree. It is a very impressive piece of post-Franco art. Then into the chamber which is an old church seating 84 members all in close contact in a elliptical chamber. Interestingly the Regional administration is in Bilbao but the Parliament meets in Gernika - as much out of history as anything else. Outside the building stands the ceremonial oak and its predecessors trunk. It is where official oaths are sworn - beats signing a pice of paper for the Chief Executive.
From there we wandered down to the Peace Museum in the old town hall. A really good piece of work with good audio visual elements and a strong sense of international justice. What I had not realised is that although the German government has apologised for the role of the Condor Legion the museum makes the point that the Spanish Army has never said sorry. Given Basque/Madrid relations interestingly they also have a section criticising both sides in the ETA conflict. From there we wandered down the Market Place which was the centre of the attack - on market day no less. The thought crossed my mind that it was like the German Air Force in WW II had blitzed Burscough village. It was certainly a fine example of state sponsored terrorism - even if Franco was not the government at that time.
Friday
We've decided as the weather is little better but less windy we will move south east to near Pamplona to a site who once more say they can cope with us. This has meant facing the lunacy that is the autovia system around Bilbao but for a shorter distance and then we're onto N roads - like A roads but without the by-passes! Takes us up into the mountains through oak and birch forests.The houses get sturdier lokking becoming low and squat with steep roofs and thick walls. Some have a peculiar rendering dotted with deliberate holes to show the stone walls beneath. They look like lumps of Gruyere cheese with a roof. Everyone has flowers on the balconies or patios. Its really quiet Swiss to look at. But we are clearly in Basque territory with the signs in both languages, Basque first of course, and often the local hooligans have painted over the Spanish town names so navigation is not easy as there is no commonality. So Pamplona is Iruna - which is a different place to Irun. Still we made it to Camping Etxarri at Extarri Aranatz in Navarre. And they were surprised at such a big van! Still despite the infestation of Belgians - loads of them we managed to find a spot under the tall oaks on ground that seems a bit soft but is the bast of a bad lot. Then off to the local supermarket. It might be called Netto but its not german and the prices are more like Sainsbury or even Waitrose. Still because we did not use any plastic bags we got a free bottle of shampoo!
Saturday
Woke to overcast skies - eventually. Being quiet and under the trees we slept in. Still the "Holy" mountain of Navarra is just up the road so we paid a rather windswept visit to San Miguel de Aralar. Its the oldest chuch in Navarra and it would seem home to an active pilgrimage business. Still a superb location and our old friends the vultures are back in the high mountains. From there we swept down to Lekunberri and the Ruta de Ernest Hemingway which seems to commemorate his visits to the area in the late 1950's. Sadly Lekunberri gave a very good impression of being closed. The good news was it had stayed dry but little sunshine. I bought some internet time but then discovered that the sites server was not working so I'll keep amassing the day stories.
Sunday
Again we slept in the gloom must fool the cats into thinking it's not yet morning. Cloudy skies and a Sunday meant that a trip to the coast was in order. Donostia (San sebastian) is about 60kms away so we jumped in the car and sped off down the autovia. The route is great and the views spectacular. We drove into town and like everywhere in Spain took a place in an undergound car-park near the theatre. My reason for coming was to see if it was anywhere as good as my O-level Spanish teacher at St Marys in the 60's - Harry is all I can remember - used to go on about it as he had spent time there. It was sunny by now and it seemed everyone had come to town. The buildings are a riot of French "Belle epoque", Spanish modernist and even mock Plateresque. I can bore for Britain on architectural styles - but won't. We decided to take a boat trip around the bay before lunch which seemed like a good idea as the sun might have been shining but the wind was still active creating a little thrill ride rather than a calm sojourn. Wind blown and slightly damp we went for lunch. 22 euros got us lunch(platos combinatos without the fried egg!) a drink and coffee away from the harbour whereas it would have been twice that overlooking the fishing boats. Then we wandered the streets to work off lunch admiring the views from the promenade.
And so back to the site where it was not sunny but rather chilly. Still the local weather forecast is for sunshine and better temperatures tomorrow.
Monday
We shall have to set the alarm as we awoke late yet again! But the sun is shining and two Belgians had left.
So we set about cleaning the van inside and out so it didn't look quite like it had spent the last two weeks on the Somme in WWI. Daren't wash it but wiped down the dark colours so they ceased to be grey. Then prepared a shopping list and set off after a late lunch to find a reasonable supermarket. Found an Eroski in Iruna (Pamplona but it gets painted over). Prices still a little higher but then on the way out we found Aldi and Lidl who seemed to hide themselves until it was too late. Driving back I upset a local who seemed to think that indicating left meant I was going to turn right and he could overtake me on the left. Perhaps I should have followed the local tradion and not signalled! And the best news is that the Belgians seem to have decided to follow their scouts and leave tomorrow as they are packing up their gear and having a get together at one of the vans. And they promise to fix the internet tomorrow. Well maybe.
Tuesday
The Belgians have left. Which has given us the chance to move to a pitch where the sun shines and we can get satellite. Just in time to watch England tomorrow. Spent the day re-organising ourselves. Snag is the Internet is still very flaky and we can't get some sites for some reason.
Wednesday
Woke up to find our new Dutch neighbours have left and the sun continues to shine. Paid a visit ti the mountains and followed a sign at the road side. Led us back to the Pays Vasco out of Navarra and up to a spectacular monastery. It's apparently burnt down three times and then rebuilt with a lot of modern touches about 20 to 30 years ago. Still got back to the van just in time to see Defoes goal. Bring on the Germans!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Ooops
Second attempt at getting this report up.
We did not move today after I had an unpleasant night with an upset stomach - its a long way to the loos! Still to cheer me up the sun has broken through and we can see the hills behind us. And it means we are in place and equipped to watch Italy play tonight. Not sure if the game will be any good given the "ancient" team Lippi is putting on the pitch (at least that what the Italian press seems to think). The cats think the sun is good as they can wander around outside the RV and come in without being grabbed to be dried.
Still tomorrow we have to move on - honest!
We did not move today after I had an unpleasant night with an upset stomach - its a long way to the loos! Still to cheer me up the sun has broken through and we can see the hills behind us. And it means we are in place and equipped to watch Italy play tonight. Not sure if the game will be any good given the "ancient" team Lippi is putting on the pitch (at least that what the Italian press seems to think). The cats think the sun is good as they can wander around outside the RV and come in without being grabbed to be dried.
Still tomorrow we have to move on - honest!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
At last
Well today the rain stopped. Not that the sun came out but although it was grey we did get to see some of the local countryside. We think its a nice place but we have had enough and tomorrow we move on to Bilboa.
Although once more today I was mistaken for a Spaniard - what is going on?
Although once more today I was mistaken for a Spaniard - what is going on?
Saturday, June 12, 2010
And again!
Not a lot to say about today except it has continued to rain all day!
Still we have got access to the telly - not BBC/ITV - but the interactive channels do show the games so watched Argentina vs Nigeria. Now to find a way to watch England or at least listen to the 5 Live commentary.
Spent an hour talking to a couple who mistook for a Spaniard. It's a bit odd being approached and asked "Hable Ingles?". So they conversation went uphill from that.
Ahh well there's always tomorrow!
Still we have got access to the telly - not BBC/ITV - but the interactive channels do show the games so watched Argentina vs Nigeria. Now to find a way to watch England or at least listen to the 5 Live commentary.
Spent an hour talking to a couple who mistook for a Spaniard. It's a bit odd being approached and asked "Hable Ingles?". So they conversation went uphill from that.
Ahh well there's always tomorrow!
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Green Coast
Well we are now in the "Principality of Asturia" on the edge of town called Cudillero.
we left Santiago yesterday as it started to rain and it has not stopped since. We knew this was called the "Green Coast" and therefore rain was possible but its June and we travelled hopefully. We sort of guessed things were not all well as we worked our way along the coast and from some of the viaducts could see below us swollen anf flooded rivers. Then in places the rocks/earth in the cuttings had slipped and all that kept them off the road were the crash barriers/metal netting draped over them for exactly that purpose. And it was slow as the motorway is not complete so the road works kept the speed on the old road down to 20-30mph. And I did
recall at every Cabinet in the Community someone would come along and say "the road outside my house is the worst in the World/Europe". They were wrong the N643 is the worst road we've used and it is dreadful. Nothing in Lancashire was as bad.
Still we eventually arrived at our site and the poor man on reception looked like he was going to die of fright. When I pointed out we were only 8 metres long he calmed down a bit (having said by email he could cope!). Allied to the fact that he did not have much English (or any other language but Spanish) but I could understand him. He decided not to put us on the grass pitches but leave us on a metalled road way so we did not sink. The fact I got the van in position and turned to face the exit without doing any damage clearly impressed him.
So we are here and not moving as the next site may not be quite so firm(!) as the weather all along this coast is dire and expected to remain so. Last night we watched a large group of Dutch caravanners celebrate someone's birthday in the covered barbecue area. And four elderly French campers (yes tents) give up and sleep in their cars. I was sure the site guy would have let them rent one of bungalows if they had asked. Still proves age is no bar to hardiness - or stupidity.
This morning was drier or rather the rain just became drizzle most of the time so we did the shopping and went to explore Cudillero. Its quaint and narrow lying at the bottom of a ravine next to the sea. I bet its really pretty but the rain came back so I reserve my judgement. We retreated back to van but stopped to look at the RENFE narrow gauge railway and expected to sort of romantic but efficient train. Well it was efficient but not romantic. It was a very modern two coach train, very much newer than the Preston to Ormskirk trains or even the Liverpool to Ormskirk electric trains. Still the route is supposed to be tremendous for the scenery when its not raining.
And to prove how bad it is even the cats who like to see new sites and sights can't be bothered even asking to go out. If it keeps up we'll be stir crazy or deaf from the raining hammering on the roof. Or both. Ahh sunny Spain!!!!!!!
we left Santiago yesterday as it started to rain and it has not stopped since. We knew this was called the "Green Coast" and therefore rain was possible but its June and we travelled hopefully. We sort of guessed things were not all well as we worked our way along the coast and from some of the viaducts could see below us swollen anf flooded rivers. Then in places the rocks/earth in the cuttings had slipped and all that kept them off the road were the crash barriers/metal netting draped over them for exactly that purpose. And it was slow as the motorway is not complete so the road works kept the speed on the old road down to 20-30mph. And I did
recall at every Cabinet in the Community someone would come along and say "the road outside my house is the worst in the World/Europe". They were wrong the N643 is the worst road we've used and it is dreadful. Nothing in Lancashire was as bad.
Still we eventually arrived at our site and the poor man on reception looked like he was going to die of fright. When I pointed out we were only 8 metres long he calmed down a bit (having said by email he could cope!). Allied to the fact that he did not have much English (or any other language but Spanish) but I could understand him. He decided not to put us on the grass pitches but leave us on a metalled road way so we did not sink. The fact I got the van in position and turned to face the exit without doing any damage clearly impressed him.
So we are here and not moving as the next site may not be quite so firm(!) as the weather all along this coast is dire and expected to remain so. Last night we watched a large group of Dutch caravanners celebrate someone's birthday in the covered barbecue area. And four elderly French campers (yes tents) give up and sleep in their cars. I was sure the site guy would have let them rent one of bungalows if they had asked. Still proves age is no bar to hardiness - or stupidity.
This morning was drier or rather the rain just became drizzle most of the time so we did the shopping and went to explore Cudillero. Its quaint and narrow lying at the bottom of a ravine next to the sea. I bet its really pretty but the rain came back so I reserve my judgement. We retreated back to van but stopped to look at the RENFE narrow gauge railway and expected to sort of romantic but efficient train. Well it was efficient but not romantic. It was a very modern two coach train, very much newer than the Preston to Ormskirk trains or even the Liverpool to Ormskirk electric trains. Still the route is supposed to be tremendous for the scenery when its not raining.
And to prove how bad it is even the cats who like to see new sites and sights can't be bothered even asking to go out. If it keeps up we'll be stir crazy or deaf from the raining hammering on the roof. Or both. Ahh sunny Spain!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Santiago and beyond
Well I did say that I needed to restart the blog so here goes.
Travelling means that things happens which might make interesting reading and are the kind of thing that I'd like to remember.
The last 24 hours have been a classic if unusual case in point.
We have spent the three days at a site west of Leon - an interesting city where we saw our first real down and out drunk in Spain. Lying spark out in a city square making local schoolgirls blush/giggle/photograph him on their phones (or all three) as he lay there with his manhood for all to see. Two hours earlier he'd have a cell for the night as the place was crawling with cops chaperoning some local military ceremony.
So next evening I went down to do the washing up and an English lady sort of mimed at me what should she do with her rubbish. I explained and she went to the bins leaving her washing. I had a vague idea she looked familiar but way out of context so I ignored it. She came back and started her washing up. We chatted for a few minutes as travelling folk do about where we had come from and where we are going. She then said "You look like someone I know in Lancashire".A moments mad panic lest it was someone I'd upset in the homes closures. "You look and sound like Chris Cheetham" she said. I confirmed that I looked and sounded like him because I was him. "I'm Jan Hodgson - remember John and I?" Well talk about surprise. Early participants and then retirees from the Labour Party's "McKenna wars" in West Lancashire. Meeting them over ten years later on a small campsite in a little town in Northern Spain may prove six degrees of separation but was a shock to us all! So we discussed events and people we both knew - even some we liked! They were surprised to see me and had not realised what we had done. Which suggests that the power of the press is more limited than either they or politicians would like to believe.
The next morning they left heading east towards Rioja and we headed west towards Santiago de Compostela - quicker and more comfortably than the army of walkers and cyclists following the Camino de Santiago. It was a long day with the hairiest moment in the Winnie. We had a site booked called Camping de Ria Arosa west of Santiago. We eventually got there and frightened them with our size. We toured the site but could not find a pitch big enough. Then they said you should be at our sister site Camping de Ria Arosa 2! Getting out was a nightmare. the turn was tight anyway but cars parked on the road opposite meant it was impossible. Three young Spaniards had been about to park right across from the gates but backed away when they saw our problem. between us with them guiding me and then as necessary manually sliding the trailer left we eventually (10 minutes ) got away and only slightly bent the sites sign!
Then initially following a member of staff we headed to site 2. This time not on a narrow beach road but up a narrow road into the "mountains". Still after asking a local at a fork where the camping signs where to the right of the fork and could have referred to either route we got there. The large pitches at the top of the site were plenty big enough but left the van sloping forwards and to the left - not good for the fridge! After an hour and a half we managed to find a pitch we could level it out on but only after much swearing and sweating.
The next morning(Friday 4th) broke cloudy and dull but we decided to go to Santiago anyway. It was a madhouse! What we did not realise is that 2010 is a holy year in Santiago because the saints day falls on a Sunday and if you do the walk this year "all your years in Purgatory to this point" are wiped clear. In other words a sort of spiritual "get out of jail free" card. Anyway they are strict about bags in the cathedral and so we took it in turns to look inside where the combination of pilgrims, pious and plain curious produced a scrum of manic proportions. If this is the second holiest Catholic shrine in Europe they should take lessons on organisation from the Vatican (the holiest). But as the sun was now shining we had lunch out and then as the town was closed until 4:30ish we went back to the site via Mercadona (our favourite Spanish supermarket).
Saturday broke dull and cloudy but we set off for Finisterre/Fisterre the Spanish Lands End. The road weaves around the coast and seems to take for ever. Still we got to visit the two biggest horreos in Gallicia (allegedly) in neighbouring villages.A horreo is a raised storehouse designed on legs with overhangs so mice etc can't get in. It's very much a local design and even varies from one area to the next. Sadly the weather stayed dull and our visit did not offer the chance of great sunset pictures. It however fascinating to see pilgrims making the trek out from Santiago to the "end" of the road to leave their boots behind as tradition demands (actually that requires them to burn their clothes) but leaving your boots is the modern respectable version. Still all in all a nice day out. And the sun had finally broken through by the time we got back.
Sunday was bright and sunny and we decided to Ria de Pontevedra to the south - but only the north side and come back along the south side of the Ria de Arousa. Sunday was Corpus Christi and again as poor ignorant travellers we failed to appreciate that in this part of Spainb all the churches are surrounded by walks of flowers. We started off at the biggest horreo in Gallicia at the Monasterio de Poio (allegedly) but it did seem wider if not as long as the ones yesterday and had three legs not two across so it ended up with 51 legs - bit like the Terry Pratchett luggage! From there it was a short hop to Combarro whch is allegedly the village in Gallicia with more horreos than anywhere else ( you can see how the local advertising gets to you). It is a grade A honeypot with narrow winding streets which seemed to be full of either cafes/restuarants/bars or shops selling an amazing collection of souvenirs and every house seemed to have a horreo so maybe it's true. And through the village ran the walk of flowers with religious motifs "drawn" is shells, flower petals, coloured sand, grains and cypress cuttings. Largely they were scuffed so only a couple remained intact. After a drink (non-alcoholic) we moved on to Cambados to see if we could find some cheap Albarino wine. Well the shops were shut but they were still laying out their flower paths. But they had palm fronds and masses of fennel fronds as their green stuff and more coloured sand. All in all a very pretty sight with a wonderful smell. But getting out of town was a nightmare as the signposting would end at a junction and the town we were aiming at simply failed to get a mention. However, we did eventually get on the right road only for that to be diverted - with more intermittent signs!
Monday returned to the dull theme. But the morning was dedicated to more shopping and then we went to see the local sights! The weather decided to prove why everything is so green up here and became drizzle degenerating to rain. We spent ages driving down roads of ever diminishing size to find the local waterfall walk. We managed to get there and back in a dry(ish) gap and then got hopelessly lost on a maze of single track roads without signs. The clouds lifted long enough to let us see the coast and we aimed at it. To my amazement we ended up not east of where we started but west and about 5 minutes from the site.
Tuesday's Plan A was to drive the 60 miles to A Coruna. But we rolled over when the alarm went off and could only just be heard above the sound of rain on the van roof. So we got up late and decided we would be stir crazy if we let the weather keep us in. So we consulted the Rough Guide and headed to Pontevedra town after lunch. On the way the rain became showery so we set out to see the local "sights" feeling good about the decision. The Museum is a fascinating mish-mash of archaelogy and collections from the towns famous sons to representations of local industry and life. And a collection of religious art with a last supper where Christ looks quite a lot like Noel Edmonds. But is a lot older. However the weather gods had decided if we were going to wander around inside they would turn on the rain again. So a quick tour of the rest of the old town - including the Pilgrims sanctuary shaped like a scallop shell and the ruins in the town centre and back home in ever worsening rain. This can't be right as we are not on the plain where the rain mainly falls or so we thought!
Oh and as there is no wi-fi on the site I am not sure when you will read this !
Brought to you by a strange connection inviolving a network routed over the mains electric. Still if you get this it clearly works. The rain pored down all night and now its sunshine and showers. Still we move tomorrow so more news then.
Travelling means that things happens which might make interesting reading and are the kind of thing that I'd like to remember.
The last 24 hours have been a classic if unusual case in point.
We have spent the three days at a site west of Leon - an interesting city where we saw our first real down and out drunk in Spain. Lying spark out in a city square making local schoolgirls blush/giggle/photograph him on their phones (or all three) as he lay there with his manhood for all to see. Two hours earlier he'd have a cell for the night as the place was crawling with cops chaperoning some local military ceremony.
So next evening I went down to do the washing up and an English lady sort of mimed at me what should she do with her rubbish. I explained and she went to the bins leaving her washing. I had a vague idea she looked familiar but way out of context so I ignored it. She came back and started her washing up. We chatted for a few minutes as travelling folk do about where we had come from and where we are going. She then said "You look like someone I know in Lancashire".A moments mad panic lest it was someone I'd upset in the homes closures. "You look and sound like Chris Cheetham" she said. I confirmed that I looked and sounded like him because I was him. "I'm Jan Hodgson - remember John and I?" Well talk about surprise. Early participants and then retirees from the Labour Party's "McKenna wars" in West Lancashire. Meeting them over ten years later on a small campsite in a little town in Northern Spain may prove six degrees of separation but was a shock to us all! So we discussed events and people we both knew - even some we liked! They were surprised to see me and had not realised what we had done. Which suggests that the power of the press is more limited than either they or politicians would like to believe.
The next morning they left heading east towards Rioja and we headed west towards Santiago de Compostela - quicker and more comfortably than the army of walkers and cyclists following the Camino de Santiago. It was a long day with the hairiest moment in the Winnie. We had a site booked called Camping de Ria Arosa west of Santiago. We eventually got there and frightened them with our size. We toured the site but could not find a pitch big enough. Then they said you should be at our sister site Camping de Ria Arosa 2! Getting out was a nightmare. the turn was tight anyway but cars parked on the road opposite meant it was impossible. Three young Spaniards had been about to park right across from the gates but backed away when they saw our problem. between us with them guiding me and then as necessary manually sliding the trailer left we eventually (10 minutes ) got away and only slightly bent the sites sign!
Then initially following a member of staff we headed to site 2. This time not on a narrow beach road but up a narrow road into the "mountains". Still after asking a local at a fork where the camping signs where to the right of the fork and could have referred to either route we got there. The large pitches at the top of the site were plenty big enough but left the van sloping forwards and to the left - not good for the fridge! After an hour and a half we managed to find a pitch we could level it out on but only after much swearing and sweating.
The next morning(Friday 4th) broke cloudy and dull but we decided to go to Santiago anyway. It was a madhouse! What we did not realise is that 2010 is a holy year in Santiago because the saints day falls on a Sunday and if you do the walk this year "all your years in Purgatory to this point" are wiped clear. In other words a sort of spiritual "get out of jail free" card. Anyway they are strict about bags in the cathedral and so we took it in turns to look inside where the combination of pilgrims, pious and plain curious produced a scrum of manic proportions. If this is the second holiest Catholic shrine in Europe they should take lessons on organisation from the Vatican (the holiest). But as the sun was now shining we had lunch out and then as the town was closed until 4:30ish we went back to the site via Mercadona (our favourite Spanish supermarket).
Saturday broke dull and cloudy but we set off for Finisterre/Fisterre the Spanish Lands End. The road weaves around the coast and seems to take for ever. Still we got to visit the two biggest horreos in Gallicia (allegedly) in neighbouring villages.A horreo is a raised storehouse designed on legs with overhangs so mice etc can't get in. It's very much a local design and even varies from one area to the next. Sadly the weather stayed dull and our visit did not offer the chance of great sunset pictures. It however fascinating to see pilgrims making the trek out from Santiago to the "end" of the road to leave their boots behind as tradition demands (actually that requires them to burn their clothes) but leaving your boots is the modern respectable version. Still all in all a nice day out. And the sun had finally broken through by the time we got back.
Sunday was bright and sunny and we decided to Ria de Pontevedra to the south - but only the north side and come back along the south side of the Ria de Arousa. Sunday was Corpus Christi and again as poor ignorant travellers we failed to appreciate that in this part of Spainb all the churches are surrounded by walks of flowers. We started off at the biggest horreo in Gallicia at the Monasterio de Poio (allegedly) but it did seem wider if not as long as the ones yesterday and had three legs not two across so it ended up with 51 legs - bit like the Terry Pratchett luggage! From there it was a short hop to Combarro whch is allegedly the village in Gallicia with more horreos than anywhere else ( you can see how the local advertising gets to you). It is a grade A honeypot with narrow winding streets which seemed to be full of either cafes/restuarants/bars or shops selling an amazing collection of souvenirs and every house seemed to have a horreo so maybe it's true. And through the village ran the walk of flowers with religious motifs "drawn" is shells, flower petals, coloured sand, grains and cypress cuttings. Largely they were scuffed so only a couple remained intact. After a drink (non-alcoholic) we moved on to Cambados to see if we could find some cheap Albarino wine. Well the shops were shut but they were still laying out their flower paths. But they had palm fronds and masses of fennel fronds as their green stuff and more coloured sand. All in all a very pretty sight with a wonderful smell. But getting out of town was a nightmare as the signposting would end at a junction and the town we were aiming at simply failed to get a mention. However, we did eventually get on the right road only for that to be diverted - with more intermittent signs!
Monday returned to the dull theme. But the morning was dedicated to more shopping and then we went to see the local sights! The weather decided to prove why everything is so green up here and became drizzle degenerating to rain. We spent ages driving down roads of ever diminishing size to find the local waterfall walk. We managed to get there and back in a dry(ish) gap and then got hopelessly lost on a maze of single track roads without signs. The clouds lifted long enough to let us see the coast and we aimed at it. To my amazement we ended up not east of where we started but west and about 5 minutes from the site.
Tuesday's Plan A was to drive the 60 miles to A Coruna. But we rolled over when the alarm went off and could only just be heard above the sound of rain on the van roof. So we got up late and decided we would be stir crazy if we let the weather keep us in. So we consulted the Rough Guide and headed to Pontevedra town after lunch. On the way the rain became showery so we set out to see the local "sights" feeling good about the decision. The Museum is a fascinating mish-mash of archaelogy and collections from the towns famous sons to representations of local industry and life. And a collection of religious art with a last supper where Christ looks quite a lot like Noel Edmonds. But is a lot older. However the weather gods had decided if we were going to wander around inside they would turn on the rain again. So a quick tour of the rest of the old town - including the Pilgrims sanctuary shaped like a scallop shell and the ruins in the town centre and back home in ever worsening rain. This can't be right as we are not on the plain where the rain mainly falls or so we thought!
Oh and as there is no wi-fi on the site I am not sure when you will read this !
Brought to you by a strange connection inviolving a network routed over the mains electric. Still if you get this it clearly works. The rain pored down all night and now its sunshine and showers. Still we move tomorrow so more news then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)